Bellamy sets sprinting record

Craig Bellamy set a record for sprinting in one match as he helped Liverpool beat Manchester City and reach the Carling Cup final.

The Reds won the 2-2, picking up a 3-2 aggregate win with Bellamy scoring one and generally wreaking havoc in an 88-minute appearance.

The sprints are registered when a player runs quicker than seven metres per second.

The Reds have not revealed exactly how far Bellamy ran but it may have been up to 850 metres at high intensity.

The average for a player to travel in a game is much less at just over 300m, Gareth Bale racked up 719m as he tore Inter Milan apart at White Hart Lane in 2010.

Bellamy’s fitness is particularly surprising given the 32-year-old’s previous injury problems.

The Welshman’s issues started in 1999 when he suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Norwich and was forced to sit out most of the 1999/2000 season.

Hamstring and knee niggles continued through his time at Coventry and Newcastle before he was restricted to just nine appearances in his first season for West Ham due to another serious knee problem.

Bellamy was also forced to stand down as Wales captain in 2011 while on loan at home-town club Cardiff after his fitness issues meant he could no longer commit to playing regularly for his country.